F-19

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F-19 is a designation for a United States fighter aircraft that has never been officially used, and has engendered much speculation that it might refer to a type of aircraft whose existence is still classified.

Contents 1 History 2 Cultural references 3 See also 4 References

[edit] History

Since the unification of the numbering system in 1962, U.S. fighters have been designated by consecutive numbers, beginning with the F-1 Fury. F-13 was never assigned due to superstition, but after the F/A-18 Hornet, the next announced aircraft was the F-20 Tigershark. There have been a number of theories put forth to explain this omission, but none have ever been confirmed.

The most prevalent theory in the 1980s was that "F-19" was the designation of the stealth fighter whose development was an open secret in the aerospace community. When the actual aircraft was publicly revealed in 1988, it was called the F-117 Nighthawk. There seems to be no evidence that "F-19" was ever used to designate the Nighthawk, although the National Museum of the United States Air Force website (as of 2007) does include the entry "Lockheed F-19 CSIRS (see F-117)". ^[1]

[edit] Cultural references

• In the 1983 Chevy Chase film Deal of the Century, Gregory Hines' character "Ray Kasternak" piloted an F-19 in a dogfight against an autonomous drone fighter.
• In 1986, the Testor Corporation released a model aircraft kit, calling it the F-19 Stealth Fighter. ^[2][3]
• Jane's Information Group published an incorrect entry on the F-19 in their aviation reference, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1986-1987. In addition to the fictitious artwork, the 1987-1988 and 1988-89 editions lists the aircraft as the "Lockheed RF-19 and XST". ^[4]
• In 1988, Microprose released a computer game entitled F-19 Stealth Fighter, the first computer simulation of stealth air combat.
• In his 1986 novel Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy featured the F-19 as a secret weapon used to combat a Soviet invasion of Germany. This vehicle was considerably more capable than the F-117, being a supersonic fighter rather than a subsonic bomber.

[edit] See also

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of fighter aircraft
  

[edit] References

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v • d • e United States tri-service fighter designations post-1962 F-1  • F-2  • F-3  • F-4  • F-5  • F-6  • F-7  • F-8  • F-9  • F-10  • F-11  • YF-12  • (F-13 not assigned)  • F-14  • F-15  • F-16  • YF-17  • F/A-18  • (F-19 not assigned)  • F-20  • F-21  • F-22  • YF-23  • (F-24 to F-34 not assigned)  • F-35 See also: F-19  • F-117  • Pre-1962 list